Faith and its hope

Passions Narration's

September 6, 2005

Joel Akin

Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Trying to determine a course requires a number of difficult choices for us as human beings. We tend to look in a mirror and see ourselves and then when the eyes are closed we quickly forget what we see. Why is this? Probably because we do not have the ability to see things when we are blinded by darkness. If our eyes are open to the light we are able to see but if there is something in us that closes our inner thoughts then the outer thoughts remain dim and obscure. When I searched for Faith I heard many mention its meaning to me. They would quote scriptures such as Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. But when you asked them to explain this no one really seemed to know how to do this. I listened to all the experts and they got only so far and whammo, their understanding was lost. Though I love the scriptures I began to realize the true answers were so deeply hidden that not even the Bible clearly defined what faith was. How can this be? Would not Jesus have explained it so clearly that everyone could understand it? If Faith is a grain of mustard seed, equivalent, then why do you need it to move a mountain? If you have a grain then you must have something that is similar to a seed. And a seed is the key to understanding how to open faith, if you will.

 When you think of a seed the first thing you need is a fertile imagination. Well, Paul does tell us to have hope, does he not? So before you can understand faith you always have to return to hope. Hope will teach you things because it too is a seed and this seed is the key to begin growing your cash crop as some might call it. Now a cash crop can best be described as one that is very fruitful. You don't start with a tree of fruit until you start with a seed that grows that tree. That seed is hope.

 When you plant a fruit seed you need good soil, clean fresh water, warm sunshine and the ability to keep the weeds at bay. In my opinion there are few things in life besides faith that will keep us on the right path. Faith in God is the key but is our faith in God enough? If I tell people I have total or ultimate faith in God they might chuckle, laugh or just say "I don't understand." Ultimate faith in God, as God put it to me, is the belief in God that He can and will work out any and all problems in my life no matter how difficult they may get. So if I say that I have problems I have to decide whether God is bigger then my problems. If He is then I can leave them with God. I think where some get off base is they look at the problem and pray about it then do it themselves and forget about God. The real basis of hope is that we start with a prayer of hope or a prayer of desire. A prayer of desire is "Can you help me or will you do this for me...." But it has to go deeper then that. Prayer of desire is good enough for some but you also need to know that you are talking and working with a God that is bigger then all your difficulties. If He is then your prayer of desire should be answered. When you take that prayer remember to look at your own life. A tree, that is a fruit tree, is designed to bear fruit. It can't bear fruit if it does not have all the right conditions. Otherwise the fruit will be gone and the tree barren and eventually it will probably die. For life to come back the gardener has to sometimes prune back the branches and start again by fertilizing the roots, keeping it regularly watered if necessary and waiting for nature to take its course.

 Consistent thought is essential to faith. Having divided thoughts leads to divided desires. If you have divided desires you will find it difficult to pray, believe or hope for anything. For example when I speak of divided desires I speak of the divided mind. The divided mind pulls you into two different directions. First is the desire for good and then the desire for sin. Sin is the hardest desire in our life to overcome if there is no consistency in our walk with God. True faith means consistent walk. When we got too busy with our everyday activities our faith walk drops to a low. Faith in this case is the time we spend with God. So what happens if something happens to take you away from God? I guess the real question is this. If there is a problem, as God put it to me, then the problem is mine. So if the problem is mine how do I overcome it? By consistently pushing forward no matter what the opposition or obstacles that come into your pathway. The rulers of this world would like you to think that God is always there, and that is true, but that he might be too busy or too tired or too weak to deal with you. On my thoughts I look at it differently. If I have ultimate faith in God its not because of my 'ultimate' faith that God is big. Its because I never had ultimate faith to begin with. God did. So if people try to stop me in my walk with Him its because they are weak in faith and weak in hope and their desires, like the fruit tree, are beginning to dry up and go barren.

 Now how do you deal with a tired or weak God? I guess we must then go to scriptures to prove that God doesn't grow weary or tired. Thus we have a problem with those who say He does. The answer is simple. They are wrong. God is eternal. Otherwise if he grows tired and weak his faith lags and that is not possible.

 Now hope is still the key to the spiritual fruit. Hope is the desire for things to grow and when things grow they become the substance of that hope. Thus if you have a desire then you give that desire to God. He takes it and begins to help you make it a reality with your prayers to Him. Thus the more you pray for something specific the greater the dimensions of that fruit tree and the greater the reality it becomes. So when you pray pray specifically for something. And then know that God will take it, grow it in His garden, make it fruitful and return it with you overflowing with goodness. Never give up cause God has all kinds of things built upon prayer that were meant for people and sent to earth but never received because they gave up too soon.

 Hope is the center of faith. I like that idea. The center of faith. This speaks to me of a God who has hope at the center of his life. How wonderful to know that God has desires and those desires are built upon hope. If hope is at the center of Gods life then I know that he wants to give me the desires of his heart. And the desires of his heart is that I also might be fruitful and bear fruit for others to see. If Hope is there then there is joy and peace and love and all the great things that come by being in the center of his will. What joy there is in knowing God because it is in His plan for me to be fruitful and to have hope also. My hopes and my dreams and my desires coalesce into fruitfulness when I put my trust in God. They begin with a seed and those seeds are always unique. They may stem from Gods hope but they grow into something called faith and faith grows into something called love. And when we grow in God then our faith in God grows also. So stay consistent in your hope. Don't give up or walk away from it when it seems to lag or wait. Remember God is up there taking care of your seeds of hope watering them and keeping them cared for in His garden. They will bear fruit. I can promise you that.